Midlife has many challenges—but what my clients want at this point is to let go of some of the old baggage they’ve carried for so long. To live life from now, this point forward.

A part of that process is letting go of the old stories from generations past that became yours, like the old hand-me-downs you never wanted.

It's easy to take on the stories about who we are from our families, to hold the old wounds, and unhealed traumas that never belonged to us. We internalize all that baggage without any conscious effort. And it can F#CK us up if we don’t release them.

Making Space for Change

Our sense of worthiness, the shame and guilt we carry, the stories we’ve internalized, can all disrupt how we see ourselves and how we are in relationships if we don’t shine a light on these issues and release them.

I’ve sluffed off a lot of the guilt and shame from my childhood trauma through lots of valuable, personal work. I highly recommend therapy if you’ve experienced trauma—and really, who hasn’t? 

Beyond therapy, working with a life coach can help to uncover the less visible stuff we’ve internalized that was never ours to begin with. Here are just a few “stories” I’ve heard while working with women:

• I’m overly sensitive, or too emotional.

• I should be ashamed of my body.

• I’m too needy.

• Asking for help is burdensome.

• I’m too old to change.

• Being kind to myself is self-indulgent.

Mastering Mid-Life

As you peel away some of the layers, you begin to see that a lot of the stories you carry were given to you without anyone ever asking if you wanted them.

In fact, I’m working with a coach right now who’s helped me examine some of the stories I have around money. My relationship with it, how I talk to myself about money, the ways I’ve avoided talking to others about money…

I’ve told myself for years that I’m financially irresponsible. In fact, it’s one of the themes of my inner critic. He reminds me of all the ways I should be ashamed of how I handle my money.

These stories are something I internalized and believed about myself for a long time. That “little story” has led to tons of shame, avoidant behaviors, lots of dread leading up to tax time when I know I have to talk to my husband about money, and a deeply felt sense that I’ll never save money because I’m reckless with it. BTW, my saving account says that’s so not true.

Opening ourselves up to see the light, to feel the feminine wisdom and the truth about who we are—imperfect, loveable humans—is what life coaching with me is all about. I want to offer you a new lens to see yourself. Your power. Your strength. Your Amazingness. Because I see the beauty in you, and I want you to see it, too.

Want to know more?

You can book a 30-minute discovery call here.

Elizabeth Cush is a women’s life coach, a therapist, and the creator and host of the Woman Worriers and Awaken Your Wise Woman podcasts. She’s also the founder of Progression Counseling in Annapolis, Md and has been featured in these major publications. Elizabeth helps women bring forth their inner gifts and live with more authenticity, ease and purpose. Click here if you'd like to know more about working with Elizabeth.

photo by @schimiggy—unsplash